Rule 7.4 Communication of Fields of Practice and Specialization
Editor’s Note: This rule, and the comments to it, were deleted by Court Order dated September 1, 2021.
Subject to the requirements of RPCs 7.1, 7.2, and 7.3,
(a) A lawyer may communicate the fact that the lawyer does or does not practice in particular fields of law.
(b) Except as permitted by paragraphs (c) and (d), a lawyer shall not state that the lawyer is a specialist, specializes, or is certified or recognized as a specialist in a particular field of law.
(c) A lawyer admitted to engage in patent practice before the United States Patent and Trademark Office may use the designation “Patent Attorney” or a substantially similar designation.
(d) A lawyer who has been certified as a specialist in a field of law by an organization accredited by the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates, and who has registered such certification with the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education, may state that the lawyer “is certified as a specialist in [field of law] by [accredited organization].”
Comment
[1] This Rule permits a lawyer to indicate areas of practice in communications about the lawyer’s services. If a lawyer practices only in certain fields or will not accept matters except in a specified field or fields, the lawyer is permitted to so indicate.
[2] However, a lawyer may not communicate that the lawyer is a “specialist,” practices a “specialty,” “specializes in” a particular field, or that the lawyer has been recognized or certified as a specialist in a particular field of law, except as provided by this Rule. Recognition of specialization in patent matters is a matter of long-established policy of the Patent and Trademark Office, as reflected in paragraph (c).
[3] Paragraph (d) permits a lawyer to communicate that the lawyer is a specialist or has been certified or recognized as a specialist when the lawyer has been so certified or recognized by an organization accredited by the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates. However, before a lawyer may communicate that the lawyer is a specialist, the lawyer must first register the specialty certification with the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education in accordance with Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 21. A lawyer shall not state or imply that the lawyer has received any certification of specialty from the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education.
Definitional Cross-References
“Substantially” See RPC 1.0(l)
